Hi there, I'm new to the forum. I have a 10 year old female ragdoll/persian named Corin
She was raised on dry, but I have become educated to the fact that it is terrible, and basically does way more harm than good. I switched her to an all wet food diet about 2 months ago and she is doing great!
I'm about to transition her to a raw food diet, VERY slowly because she has a sensitive little tummy!
I've mostly been feeding her fancy feast, and some wellness grain free formulas. I'd like to stay away from poor quality proteins and meats, grains, etc, stuff that doesn't need to be in the food for optimum health (do they even need vegetables? I don't believe so..)

I want to use the best wet food to help with transitioning to raw food. So to make this easier on me when I go to the pet store for food today, I'd just like to know what wet foods are the best brand as far as nutrition, meat/protein/nutrient quality, etc. Are there some brands that are considered 'high quality' that perhaps aren't as good? I want her transition to raw food to be as smooth as possible.
Thanks!

That's fantastic that you're so proactive about your cat's diet and health!

All my cats are huge fans of Weruva, and they use very high quality meat sources. I'd limit the fish flavours to a couple times a week though (there are lots of chicken varieties to choose from). It's shredded rather than pate - actually looks like real food! Even my one pate-centric cat loves it. http://www.weruva.com/

Some of the Merrick flavours are decent (again, try to limit the fish). And Halo Spot's Stew is okay for some variety, although it does have more vegetables than I'd prefer (but they tend to be low-glycemic ones like green beans and peas).

That's fantastic that you're so proactive about your cat's diet and health!

All my cats are huge fans of Weruva, and they use very high quality meat sources. I'd limit the fish flavours to a couple times a week though (there are lots of chicken varieties to choose from). It's shredded rather than pate - actually looks like real food! Even my one pate-centric cat loves it. http://www.weruva.com/

Some of the Merrick flavours are decent (again, try to limit the fish). And Halo Spot's Stew is okay for some variety, although it does have more vegetables than I'd prefer (but they tend to be low-glycemic ones like green beans and peas).

Good luck with the transition to raw.

Wow, I've never heard of this before. It looks wonderful, will have to ask at my local Global to see if they stock it, or if not, if they will get some in.

Wow, I've never heard of this before. It looks wonderful, will have to ask at my local Global to see if they stock it, or if not, if they will get some in.

AND they have rescue kitties

What else is cool is that they only make wet food. They won't come out with a line of dry food because they think dry food is bad for cats. I can't think of any other company that has taken that stance.

There is potato starch in many of the flavours, which I'm not a huge fan of, but at least it doesn't appear to be all that much since the carb % isn't too terrible (most are under 10%).

What else is cool is that they only make wet food. They won't come out with a line of dry food because they think dry food is bad for cats. I can't think of any other company that has taken that stance.

Now there's a company that thinks of cats first!

There is potato starch in many of the flavours, which I'm not a huge fan of, but at least it doesn't appear to be all that much since the carb % isn't too terrible (most are under 10%).

I'm a bit confused. On their website they have a link to BFF, Best Feline Food, but am not sure if it is made by Weruva too. They seem to be all fishy flavours.

I'm a bit confused. On their website they have a link to BFF, Best Feline Food, but am not sure if it is made by Weruva too. They seem to be all fishy flavours.

Ya, BFF is made by the same company. It's cheaper and all the flavours are pate style and fish-based. Not a fan of that one so much. They also make Soulistic for Petco in the States. The reason they have so many fishy products is because the dad of the guy who started the company owns a human-grade fish canning plant.

Ya, BFF is made by the same company. It's cheaper and all the flavours are pate style and fish-based. Not a fan of that one so much. They also make Soulistic for Petco in the States. The reason they have so many fishy products is because the dad of the guy who started the company owns a human-grade fish canning plant.

Hi everyone! Corin is doing great! However, I notice she doesn't eat as much of this food as she does with the cheap stuff. I heard that that's how it is with higher quality food? She's not getting sick or anything so that's good! She's a lot more energetic the past couple of days too She's an indoor cat only, and she's never been overweight or underweight. I keep an eye on her weight once a week to make sure everything's all good.
So, higher quality = eat less because it's better?

I thought I answered this yesterday but must have forgotten to hit "submit".

Anyway, it probably has more to do with the Wellness having more calories per ounce than most of the cheaper foods. Depending on the flavour, it's about 35-40 cal/oz, where as something like Fancy Feast is about 25-30 cal/oz.

Cheaper foods also tend to have more flavour enhancers in them like salt and "natural flavour" (which could even be MSG), so cats are inclined to eat more of them.

I hear opinions both ways on Beef but figured the brand was different, it had reasonably high "real food" and protein content, and was no-grain.

What is the current opinion on Natural Balance (Chicken & Liver Pate and the Turkey & Giblets)? I rotate between those two, though I've no real evidence rotation is beneficial; I can understand why it is good to see how many foods a cat can--and will-- eat, though. At present, I feed the above two NB flavors to all my others.

I deal with many cats because I do rescue work in NY. I like Wellness but at least half the cats I've tried it with don't like it, preferring Natural Balance instead. Never had any rejects with the NB. Had one reject with the Merrick Beef.

For the moment, I am not considering raw diet even as I know "mouse" would be the ideal food, and so that equivalent makes good sense. I do not feed dry food to my cats, though a few with plaque issues eat just 3 pieces of Dental Rx (which means the other want it too!)